March Madness will NOT expand beyond 68 teams -- for now

At one point, a move to 72 or 76 teams in the 2026 NCAA Tournament seemed like a foregone conclusion. NCAA President Charlie Baker said as much, pushing for the first expansion since the field grew from 64 to 68 teams in 2011. The number remained in question, but Baker all but said fans should expect a four- or eight-team jump next March.

“That would be the goal —  to try and do this for next year, which is why the window to actually negotiate it will probably end sometime early summer,” he said in May.

Three months later, a decision has finally been made: 68 teams, at least for one more year.

The Division I men’s and women’s basketball committees made the call in a joint meeting on Monday, kicking the can down the road with expansion still on the table in 2027.

“Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball championships,” NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt announced. “However, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships.”

As Baker made clear, a move to 72 or 76 needed to come in June or July if it was going to happen in 2026. Once the calendar moved to August with the fall semester set to begin for schools across the country, a one-year pause was inevitable.

What should be expected in 2027, though? According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, a field of 72 is now considered unlikely. Instead, the NCAA is expected to go all-in on a jump to 76 teams or stick with the 68-team format we all know and love.

“At this stage, sources said, the long-term decision is going to ultimately come down to whether to remain at 68 or move to 76; increasing to 72, while not officially off the table, isn’t seen as a worthwhile endeavor and is regarded as a long shot third option,” Norlander wrote Monday.

Baker previously explained the NCAA’s interest in expanding the field, saying 34 automatic qualifiers leave deserving bubble teams out of the field. That number isn’t changing, so he’s comfortable increasing the total participants to allow some of the other ‘best teams in the country’ in.

“If you have a tournament that’s got 68 teams in it, you’re going to have a bunch of teams that are probably among what most people would consider be the best 68 or 70 teams in the country that aren’t going to make the tournament — period — because you get a whole bunch of people who win their conference tournaments who aren’t in that group,” Baker said in May. “So, the point behind going from 68 to 72 or 76 is to basically give some of those schools that probably were among the best teams in the country a way into the tournament.”

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports previously reported that a move to 72 or 76 teams in 2026 “has been an expectation for a year now” after the expanded bracket possibilities were shown to Division I commissioners last June.

“NCAA officials continue to negotiate with TV partners on expansion with a hope to reach a deal by summer’s end,” he reported at the time.

A deal was not reached, and now, March Madness as we know it lives on for the time being.